Trailer Park: 'The Extra Man' and Other Eccentrics

Last week's Trailer Park could have been called "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World War II puppet movie," given that for awhile the poll results were neck and neck between Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Jackboots on Whitehall. In the end, the latter won with 59% of the votes compared to Pilgrim's 24%. But will the Nazi puppets really draw better than Michael Cera's comic book adaptation? The poll would indicate Jackboots will do better at the box office, but I doubt that will be the case.

As if last week's effeminate puppet Hitler wasn't enough, this week saw some really strange movie trailers come our way. One is for kids (Rango), one is not for kids (Dogtooth), one is definitely not for kids (Showgirls 2) and one is -- I'm not sure who it's appropriate for exactly (Separado!). And then there is The Extra Man, which isn't so much strange as quirky. Though it seems a bit on the familiar side, I've chosen its trailer as my pick of the week, because I love Kevin Kline being eccentric, I'm intrigued about John C. Reilly looking either homeless or insane (or both) and, in spite of the whole Nanny Diaries waste of time, I'm still excited about co-directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, of American Splendor repute.

Once again, Paul Dano is paired up with a crazy old man; this time it's Kline (his Emperor's Club co-star) in the elder role (instead of Brian Cox or Daniel Day-Lewis). And he's got a cute love interest, played by Katie Holmes (who co-starred with Kline in The Ice Storm). The Extra Man, which is based on the novel by Jonathan Ames (creator of HBO's Bored to Death), premiered at Sundance, from which I don't recall hearing much -- good or bad -- about it. This is why films need trailers before they play at festivals. Of course, I'm sure few people will see this trailer and be as excited as I am. But I'll watch, and usually love, Kline in anything.

Check out the rest of this week's trailers and vote for your favorite after the jump.

2. Dogtooth- I'm not sure we need the Times blurb telling us this Greek film is "one of the darkest, most unsettling, weirdest films of the year." We can gather that pretty well from this trailer anyway. [YouTube]

4. Rango(Teaser) - It's the trailers that make absolutely no sense that get my attention best. Being attentive doesn't always mean I'm interested (see #8), but in this instance it does. [iTunes Movie Trailers]

5. Separado!- Another bizarre trailer that will blow your mind. Described as a "psychedelic western musical," this weird documentary starring Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys too reminds me of Alejandro Jodorowsky (I'm in agreement with The Playlist on that). It also kinda looks like a fake film thrown together for Grindhouse. [YouTube]

6. The Borrowers(Japanese Trailer) - It may not be directed by Miyazaki or Takahata, but I expect great things from the feature debut of Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who has worked with on the films of both those master animators. Plus, it's hard not to love any adaptation of Mary Norton's classic children's novel. Especially one penned by Miyazaki himself. [YouTube]

7. The Other Guys(International Trailer) - Leave it to the non-domestic marketing to warm me up to this action comedy (the first trailer didn't even place on my chart). Foreigners apparently appreciate Eva Mendes a little more. [Sky Movies]

8. Let it Rain- Not much documentary film represented this week, but here's a French film about a documentary crew. Not completely wooed by it, but I do love Jamel Debbouze. [Moviefone]

9. Showgirls 2- Are we sure this is a trailer to a movie and not just a music video from 1980s-era Playboy Channel? [Twitch]

10. Tangled(Teaser #2) - It saddens me that Disney is making animated features that seem influenced by Shrek and Kung Fu Panda (Rapunzel's hair tricks are very Jackie Chan-like). Hopefully the film won't actually feature modern tunes like Pink's "Trouble" on its soundtrack. [Yahoo! Movies]